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Hello, fellow content peeps!

Welcome back! A lot has come to light this week in the SEO industry today, and I'm sure there are many more revelations to come.

I’ll give you the rundown of what’s happened in the past few days, but first…

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On Monday: The House Fresh Article Proves What We All Know to Be True

The week started with this insightful article from House Fresh, which clearly demonstrated who the big winners are in this current search landscape.

It’s a good read. Original reporting. Solid data. Super helpful.

The big boys in publishing have been handed a golden key. We’ve known this for a while, but it was good to see this smaller, plucky, authentic publisher call out what’s really happening in search.

It’s not just a blow for indie publishers but for users and searchers.

Some highlights from the article:

-- Big media publishers are inundating the web with subpar product recommendations you can't trust.

-- Private equity firms are utilizing public trust in long-standing publications to sell every product under the sun.

-- Google is killing independent sites that have painstakingly taken the time to offer real advice and experiences without catering to the brand that pays the most.

This article didn’t take long to start a wildfire of discussions amongst publishers and SEOs.

And, of course, the article was quickly outranked by Reddit and other articles that discussed the article.

So, the copycat discussions of the article are outranking the actual article. Point proven.

This is the reality of what’s happening in Google search for many publishers.

Thursday: Google announces it is now openly and officially in bed with Reddit.

Google announced their official partnership with Reddit and will pay Reddit $60 million per year for unlimited access to their API.

According to Google,

“This partnership will facilitate more content-forward displays of Reddit information that will make our products more helpful for our users and make it easier to participate in Reddit communities and conversations.”

Now, while the $60 million payout may seem like a drop in the bucket for Google, the timing of it is, at minimum, horrible optics for what’s been happening in search.

Namely, the ungodly amount of Reddit we’ve seen in the SERPs since the Helpful Content Update.

So, yeah. There’s that.

But, if you also read Reddit’s statement on this, we can see that Google wants to use Reddit content to further train their models.

As Eli Schwartz mentioned on LinkedIn today:

“The real value in this partnership is not that Google search will have more Reddit content; it's that now Reddit won't block Google from training its LLMs on its content.”

Okay, so Google thinks Reddit is a valuable resource to train their LLMs, but is there more?

Of course, there is.

Thursday: Reddit goes public (IPO).

Just after the Google announcement, Reddit files to go public.

This was a company that was losing money until 2023.

So, that’s the week in SEO, my friends. Looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more Reddit in the SERPs for a while.

But there is a much bigger problem here.

People trust Google.

It’s the default daily search engine for most of the planet.

They have sucked publishers dry and used our content for over a decade to build their monopoly. While they are keeping larger publishers and friends like Reddit happy, most average, everyday users don’t realize what’s happening.

We all knew that AI would shift things for publishers. We all know that Google wants to win the AI arms race, but at what cost?

Our publications have been supporting the Google ecosystem for over a decade. Without publishers creating content, there wouldn’t be Google.

But now, with AI able to massively create new content, Google has made its choice. We don’t need every publisher. We can pick and choose which ones we need to work with.

This is all at the cost of smaller publishers and quality search results.

We’re seeing it all play out.

What’s Next for Publishers?

I’m not really sure. I’m still absorbing all the week’s events. You are getting my thoughts here in real-time.

But I know one thing — We have to keep talking about these things.

If you don’t do anything else today, spend five minutes watching this video.

I’ve said this many times before, but unless you are a major publisher, you must diversify your traffic from Google.

There are still audiences out there.

If we can improve our margins (get more per visitor), have a real business behind our publications (products to sell, owned audiences)…

and

Diversify our traffic streams and content distribution strategy, I think we can survive.

Some SEOs, such as Marie Haynes, still think that Google will ‘do the right thing’ and reward those creating helpful content.

It really hurts, in this current landscape, to just blame the publishers for not creating helpful enough content.

Especially when it’s been our in-depth, first-person content that has been training the AI and building up Google (what would Google be without publishers?).

Yes, I know Google keeps saying that it wants to promote more ‘hidden gems’ in the next update.

And, if Google does want to genuinely improve search, I think they should, but I’m not holding my breath.

Yes. We can always improve our content quality.

I’ve been in the content improvement business for the better part of the last decade.

But without actual audience and search data (what do people really want), it’s hard to make any improvements.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been one of the biggest champions of EEAT and creating authentic, experience-driven, expert-led content.

And I still believe creating this type of content is essential. We all should aim for this. Brands need people to trust them. Publishers need readers who want to continue to come back.

And, when content ‘hits’ with your audience, it’s so powerful.

But first, publishers, brands, and companies must find those audiences. SEO has been an important traffic driver for most of us. We spend the time, effort, and resources to put content out there; we get some traffic back.

We get real data on what’s working, what’s not, where we have topical authority, what ‘hits’ with our readers…

It can be a wonderful exchange.

We then use this data and invest in more content. Everybody wins, right?

But things have shifted. Our unwritten agreement with the Search ecosystem seems to be ending. At the very least, it’s shifting.

So, what’s next?

Content Strategies Need to Shift for Others, Not Just Publishers

If you are reading this right now and work with an Ecomm Brand, a Content Marketing Agency, or run a real business that depends on SEO, you might wonder if all of this really matters.

I’m here to tell you that it all matters.

Google is changing search and the internet landscape in real-time.

The way we find and consume content is changing.

I know we, as an industry, can figure it out, but shifts take time.

I don’t have all the answers to what we should all do next, but I am glad to have a platform to keep these discussions going.

🤔 Content Musings of the Week

🔍 It can be tempting to take serious action when major shifts are happening, but sometimes, the best decision we can make is to watch and listen.

🔗 Building a community around your content is as important as the content itself.

🌟 It feels really good when content hits. When you get over 100 comments on a video, or someone reaches out to tell you that they loved your insights — celebrate those mini-wins too.

Things to Read, Watch, and Ponder

▶️ A big problem in content strategies for sales is not thinking about the entire marketing funnel and how buyers use content to educate themselves and make so many micro-decisions. Diane Burley makes a great case for thinking outside the traditional marketing funnel. Read the article here!

▶️ Are creators the future of media? I love a good scrappy, content-creator story, and here’s a good one. How journalists are adapting to a digital creator world with a newsletter content house. Read more here!

▶️ Things get strange when AI starts training itself. The Atlantic asks, what happens if AI becomes even less intelligible? Read the article here!

It’s been quite a week in SEO. Thank you for being here, reading, engaging, and being a big part of my content journey.

If you want more insights into the indie media world, I strongly recommend subscribing to my CEO, Ewen’s Niche Media Publishing newsletter. I’m sure he’ll have further insights on the digital landscape this week.

I’m sure we’ll also have some interesting discussions this week around the digital water cooler.

Until next week.

Cheers! Amy

P.S.) We have room for a few select partners who are ready to grow their content marketing channels.

Starting with a detailed site and content assessment, we'll lay out clear costs and growth opportunities—ensuring you see the ROI before diving in. Ready for an expert perspective on elevating your content?

Schedule a free chat with me here. 

Some Bonus Newsletters You’ll Love

If you want to get into the weeds on these topics, here are some newsletters that I read regularly that I think you’ll enjoy: